Way too many variables possible here

For starters I have no idea of where to find how to fit harddrive video or if it even refers to your hardware setup. Let alone what it covers other than fitting one of the many HDD possible to some sort of computer.

At the moment there there are 2 distinct Drive Types IDE sometimes called PATA and SATA Drives.

The way to fit these are different and then you have also to consider what type of Computer it is going into as the IDE and SATA NoteBook Drives are different yet again to Desktop IDE & SATA Drives. And though you can use NB Drives in a Desktop it adds another layer of complexity to the mix.

However supposing you have IDE Drive already fitted to your Desktop Computer all you need do is have a Spare Power Lead available or a Power Lead Splitter of the right type and a Spare Data Connection on the IDE Data Lead already fitted to your computer or a new IDE Data Lead with 3 plugs on it instead of the 2 that many system makers Data Leads have.

You then remove the existing drive look at the Jumpers on the back of the drive between the Power & Data Plugs and comparing to the Diagram on the HDD set this to the Master Option and then refit to the case making sure that it can be mounted and plugged into the end plug on the IDE Data Lead. You then take the new drive and set it to Slave and fit it to the case making sure that you can plug the Middle Connector of the IDE Data Lead into it. After both HDD are fitted you then plug in the Power Leads and then Open the BIOS and make sure that Both HDD are seen in the BIOS and correctly Identified. Then as you exit the BIOS you save the changes.

If you have a SATA Drive and are fitting another SATA Drive you will need a spare Power Plug that suits your new HDD and another SATA Data Lead. You'll also need the M'Board Manual and a Jewelers Loop to read the SATA Connectors on the M'Board. You will need to make sure that you plug the new SATA Data Lead into a SATA Connector of a higher number than what the existing one is plugged into and then connect to the SATA HDD and mount the SATA HDD in a position where both the Data & Power Leads can reach it. If your M'Board Supports a RAID Array you'll need to read the M'Board Manual to see which SATA Connection you need to plug the new drive into. Some M'Boards only support SATA Drives on some of the available connections as Single Drives and when you use a RAID Array you need to plug in Identical Drives into the correctly numbered Sockets so that they can be set as a RAID Array.

After this you enter the BIOS and make sure that both drives are present and correctly Identified. As you are exiting the BIOS you need to save the changes or the Computer will not recognize the new drive.

Naturally if the drive being fitted is already loaded with an OS things get far more difficult as not only do you need to set the HDD to the right position and Jumper Setting but you also have to somehow alter the HAL Hardware Abstraction Layer to match the new hardware that it will now find so it can work. Not to mention making sure that you are not in breach of any Licensing Agreements that you have agreed to with M$.

If you are mixing IDE & SATA Drives things get very complicated as well as the IDE HDD will always be the Primary Boot Drive which will not have the necessary Files on it to allow Windows to start if it was added to a system with SATA Drives.

So what Drive types do you have and what have you attempted to do here?

If they are SATA Drives what is the Make & Model of the M'Board?

What version of Windows is involved here?

As I don't have a Crystal Ball so I am unable to help you any further.

I would let borrow my crystal ball,

but shipping could be prohibitively expensive! Other than that, you covered the basics quite well, the only thing I would add is that Steve also find an emergency boot CD. Some drive manufacturers include them, some don't but have them available online, and there are independent sites on the web.

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